It only took a matter of minutes for the members of the order to begin showing up once the call was issued. They began gathering in the first floor library and they all were staring at Harry and talking amongst themselves. When Dumbledore came in, a hush fell. �I trust that we are all here?� he addressed them, �good, we will begin this meeting.�
�Er�dumbledore?� a squat witch in the back of the room interrupted him, �what of the children? Should they be here?� she gestured to Harry and Ginny.
Dumbledore turned his attention to them, �Harry, may stay, as he is an adult. However, Ginny, you should go. Your mother would have my beard for letting you stay.� He glanced at Mr. Weasley who nodded vehemently.
Harry released her hand as she turned to go. �I�m sorry Ginny. But he�s right, your mum...� he trailed off and lowered his eyes to the floor.
�It�s ok, I understand. Harry, Dad, Professors, I will put a pot of tea on if anyone wants some after the meeting.� She left the room, closing the door behind her.
Harry turned his attention back to Dumbledore. �We have two very important bits of news today,� he gestured to Harry and Mundingus, �first, Harry, tell us of what happened mere minutes ago.�
Harry cleared his throat and began telling the day�s events, skimping over the near kiss, though Dumbledore still seemed to know somehow. �And he was reading my thoughts, he was very happy at what he was seeing there. I could feel it�in my stomach. Ginny is in terrible danger,� he finished up, leaving most of the people in the room speechless. Many had gasped at the thought of Voldemort once again breaking into Harry�s head.
�I thought, Mr. Potter, that you had mastered occulmency once you had started studying it with Remus Lupin, after you found new emphasis after the incident with, humph, Sirius Black,� Snape had stepped out of the corner of the room.
Harry glared at him, �I did sir. This is the first flash I�ve had since I stopped them. My guard was down, I suppose, I was very emotional.� He blushed and lowered his eyes.
Snape, sneering, started to say something else but was stopped by Dumbledore who held up his hand. �So you think young miss Weasley is in serious danger. You and I will talk, later, about the steps that need to be taken to keep her out of harms way. Now Mundingus, what happened with Arabella Figg?�
Harry�s attention waned at this point, he was only half listening to the talk of death eaters� attempts to get to him. He felt the anger, which had been tramped down for so long begin to bubble inside. Steps to be taken indeed! Unless one of those steps was to stop Voldemort once and for all, Harry didn�t want to hear any of it!
He began listening now, the sheer number of attempts to capture him was astounding! �What are we doing to stop him?!� he hadn�t even realized that he spoke those words, much less shouted them.
�Harry I assure you, the proper defenses have been set up!� Mr. Weasley came to stand next to him, patting him on the shoulder, �you have never been in any real danger.�
�I am not talking about defenses! I�m talking about action! Mr. Weasley, weren�t you listening to what I said? Your DAUGHTER, Ginny, is in great DANGER! Not only her, but also, in all likelihood, your whole family and Hermione! Voldemort has always gone out of his way to hurt those I love, and now he knows my true feelings for her!� his voice broke at this. �I want�no, need�to know everything about him! his actions and his whereabouts,� he looked to Dumbledore who was smiling slightly.
�All in due time, Harry, all in due time,� he said, his smile remaining, �we have a file on this, but it�s not here, it is in an even safer place and I will take you there--after the meeting.�
Harry scowled slightly but nodded. The meeting continued, with more talk of defenses being placed on the headquarters, as that is where Ginny and Harry will be staying until they set up a safe house for them and the Weasleys. �Wait, why can�t they stay at the burrow? We could do the fidelis char�what? Professor Dumbledore?� he shook his head in confusion, looking at all the scowling faces surrounding him.
�Arthur is the minister of magic, too many people know where he lives, if his house suddenly drops off the map...well it would raise too many eyebrows. However, we do have a...property that is available for use�other than order headquarters of course.�
�What house?�
Dumbledore raised his hand, �that�s not important right now, Harry. However, what is important right now, is that everyone gets back to their respective workplaces, as not to be missed. We will have our usual meeting tonight.� He clapped his hands, officially ending the meeting.
The order members filed out of the house as Harry headed to the kitchen. �Ginny,� he said inclining his head to her, �the meeting�s over, though I think most everyone is just going to leave.� she nodded but didn�t say anything. �What�s wrong, please don�t say you�re mad about the meeting! I can tell you everything that was said!� he sat next to her at the table and took her hand, �what is it?�
Se finally looked at him, tears brewing in her eyes. �I already know, Harry,� she pulled a piece of flesh colored string from her pocket, �you always seem to forget who my brothers are.� She chuckled, mirthlessly. �You really think I�m next, don�t you?� Harry nodded and she took a deep breath, �what does that mean, Harry? You said he goes after the people that you love. When he broke through, you were about to--�
She was cut off by Dumbledore entering the kitchen. �Ah, Ginny, you said you�d have tea?� he gestured towards the steaming kettle and sat down at the table. Ginny almost screamed in frustration, but smiled and got up to make the headmaster�s tea. Dumbledore turned to Harry, �now, after I finish my tea, I will take you to my home, where you can use the floo to speak with Mrs. Weasley and have her send along Ginny and your belongings for the night. You will both be safe here and if they care to join you, I�m sure Dobby and Winky will be happy to accommodate them. Ah, thank you, Ginny!� He began sipping his tea, and addressed her, �it�s delightful. Now, I know you heard every word that was said in that meeting; those extendable ears of your brothers� come in handy for the order as well; do you have any questions to ask?�
She glanced at Harry. �Well, professor, not really. Not questions for you, anyway. You said you would explain everything and keep us safe. I trust you,� she sniffled softly but still had not shed any of her tears.
They sat in slightly awkward silence while Dumbledore finished his tea. He stood up, �are we ready?� they both stood and followed him to the back door. After the locking spells had been redone on the door, they took each others� hands and with a crack were immediately transported to a small country cottage.
Ginny gasped as she looked around, it was not at all how she expected the headmaster�s house to be. Harry also looked about, wide-eyed, taking in the new surroundings. �Now, Harry, if you will excuse me for a moment, I will get the information you requested. Ginny, while he goes over that, we will get in contact with your mother.�
He left the room, returning moments later with a huge leather bound book, some of it looking very old while other parts were as new as yesterday. �I have these two new pieces of information to add and then you can peruse the book at you leisure.� he opened it to the last page and muttered and incantation. Instantly two new pages were added and he handed the book to Harry. �You can take it anywhere on the grounds of my house, there�s quite a comfortable table in the back garden. But do not leave the fenced in area, as this house is not exactly as it seems. It is on a slightly raised dimensional plain, the only way in, or out, is through me.� he nodded and gestured for Ginny to follow him.
Harry hefted the book and walked out the back door to the table that was recommended. �That dumbledore,� he whispered in amazement as he opened the book to the first page. He didn�t really know how he was ever going to even make a dent in the information but it seemed to go remarkably fast. By the time a slightly sooty Ginny joined him, he was about a fifth of the way through.
�Are you actually reading it, or just skimming?� she said in disbelief.
�Neither, actually, I suppose there are charms on it to make it easier to comprehend, it seems as soon as I look at the page, I already know what it says.� he shrugged and returned to the book as she got up from the table.
�I am going for a walk, he said there�s a lake down over that hill. I�ll cool my feet in it, please join me when you�re done�we need to talk.� She placed her hand on his shoulder before moving away.
The file on Voldemort was his entire history starting when he was a child, up to the present day and included all of his known actions and whereabouts. It also contained the steps taken to ward him off. Harry found it fascinating, though, as he neared the end, he became a little disturbed. They knew where he was! They even had it narrowed down to three possible houses in a single town. As he read this, he still had about fifteen pages left to go, but as he got to them, they were just more listings of his actions! What was the order doing about him? They knew where he was and they were just sitting on their hands waiting for him to make a move. As he reached the current day�s entries, he angrily closed the book and got up from the table.
He stormed off to the lake. �Ginny, I�ve just finished the file and we need to go, it�s almost dark, the meeting will be starting soon.� He turned to walk away, leaving her no choice but to follow.
They walked into Dumbledore�s house, he was already waiting for them. �Harry, I see you have finished the file. I can imagine how eager you are to address the order,� dumbledore smirked, slightly. He was used to Harry�s obstinateness, seeing people try, several times--in vain--to stop him from helping those he loves. �Are we ready then?� he held out his hands for them to take and with a crack they were instantaneously transported back to 12 Grimmauld place.
Previous Page
Next Page
Main Stories